Sunday, June 5, 2011

it's hard to believe that two weeks of training has come and gone and that i'm hours away from putting all that i've learned into practice. 3:00 marks our first official staff meeting and 5:00 marks our first team's arrival.

i've tried to sit down and pound out a blog on several occasions since i've been here, but my words have come up short. that being said, please accept my feeble attempt at putting my thoughts into words even now.

in the past two weeks, i've had the honor of partnering with several ministries/non profits here in toronto. i not only had the chance to listen to passionate people share their 'why i do what i do' stories, but i had the chance to get my hands dirty, too. my heart filled with joy as i:

- served food in several soup kitchens- folded laundry for nearly 70 beds that provide a safe place to sleep each night for those who wouldn't have one otherwise- helped those with a mental disability or mental illness meet their quota in a factory so that they can receive a paycheck- wrote words of encouragement using chalk on a basketball court in the middle of one of toronto's poorest communities.

...and the list goes on.

i find myself asking people to pinch me each day [weird, i know] to see if this really is my life. and it is.